brought back to where they were under clinton. that's the catalyst that has to be brought home to republicans. they can make the deal whenever but they best make it now. if they make it late there will be hell to pay for all of us, including them. the people running the government. the politicians. good politicians don't take their countries off of cliffs. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "politicsnation" with al sharpton starts right now. thanks, chris. and thanks to you for tuning in. i'm live from washington, d.c. tonight's lead, the end of an era. for more than 20 years republicans have calmed to the one policy that's crippled our ability to get things done in washington. do you remember this? >> read my lips. no new taxes.

>> read my lips, no new taxes. george h.w. bush hammered that mantra to win the white house in 1988. but just two years later, the reagan deficits were skyrocketing and president bush was forced to change his most famous line. >> long and bitter battle over the budget officially ended last night. president bush put his signature on the deficit reduction package, including $140 billion in tax increases. >> tax increases. that was a turning point for the modern republican party. the right wing went crazy. and george bush lost re-election. since then the party's been committed to never compromising on the tax issue, no matter the deficit. no congressional republican has voted for an increase in taxes since 1990.

think about it. for nearly a quarter of a century, no new income taxes. in the current congress, 236 house republicans vowed never to raise taxes. 40 gop senators also kept that pledge. even president george w. bush, the man who got us into two wars we didn't pay for. the president who exploded our deficit. he insisted the solution to our problems were more tax cuts. president clinton handed him a $236 billion surplus. a surplus. and left office with a $1.2 trillion deficit. but he just had to keep those tax cuts coming, but something remarkable may be happening in our politics. we're on the verge of something big. after decades of silliness, this

lock-step republican fantasy that has hurt our country, president obama is close to breaking the gop tax unity. >> unfortunately, the speaker's proposal right now is still out of balance. you know, he talks, for example, about $800 billion worth of revenues but he says he's going to do that by lowering rates. and when you look at the math, it doesn't work. if we're going to protect middle class families, then we're going to have to have higher rates for the wealthiest americans, folks like me. >> read his lips, no deal without a tax increase on the richest in this country. and get this, president obama is winning this argument. remember the anti-tax pledge? 44 republicans had distanced themselves from it. today conservative columnist david brooks says, republicans

have to realize they're going to have to cave on tax rates. and conservative writer byron york writes, quote, republicans will cave. part of the reason for the shift is the president is staying strong on this issue. he did just -- he did that to just now and won an election. also, americans are saying clearly who they blame if the two sides don't reach a deal before the end of the year. take a look at this. a new poll shows republicans will take the blame if a deal isn't reached and we go over the fiscal cliff. 53% say it's on republicans. half that, 27%, will blame the president. this is progress. this is change. if president obama can break republicans on tax increases, this could redefine american politics.

it would help to change our politics in very important ways. and who knows what else may be possible. joining me now is krystal ball and richard wolffe. thank you for being here tonight. >> thanks, reverend. >> thanks, reverend. krystal, how big a moment will it be if the president gets the republicans to cave on tax increases? >> i mean, it really is sort of hard to understate how significant that would be. it would es seshlgsentially mar end of when george w.h. bush led taxes. we had the contract for america. that in some ways was the precursor of the tea party and this very extreme rhetoric, us versus them rhetoric, where rather than talking about nuance

differences between positions you call the president's health care bill socialism and yell about death panels and caricature things. that could be the most important shift. if they finally have to break and increase tax rates, they also have to change the way they talk about their policies. you can't just domogog. if they were offering better solutio solutions, that would force the democratic party to be smarter and offer more innovative solutions, too. >> now, richard, president obama told "rolling stone" magazine that his past election would break the gop fever. he told the magazine, quote, my hope is if the american people send a message to republicans and they suffer some losses in this election, that there's going to be some self-reflection going on. that it might break the fever.

they might say to themselves, you know what? we've lost our way here. we need to refocus on trying to get things done for the american people. richard, they lost some seats. they lost the election. is the fever about to break? >> it's interesting he used the language because that was the same language that vice president biden used when he was being interviewed by chris matthews on "hardball." the fever breaking is clearly a term of art in terms of what the white house seeins as the probl. as krystal's point, the politics has changed in some way. we don't have the deal set yet but when was the last time a democratic candidate had the guts to campaign saying that taxes would rise. republicans have had this game of fear playing out for many cycles now, to say we always win when we promise to cut taxes.

those are the gifts that they were using and offering in mitt romney's terms. it didn't work this time. it actually worked for the president to say, okay, it's not taxes rising on everyone but some people will pay more taxes. that kind of play book has worked time and time again. ultimately what breaks the fever? the trump card is with the president. taxes will go up if they do nothing. going over the cliff will see taxes going up on everyone and that's what republicans can avert if they choose to do so. >> krystal, it's not like the right is not fighting back. >> sure. >> because you you are seeing people that are openly swinging against speaker boehner's deal. senator jim demint says the tax hike will destroy american jobs. the coke brothers say leaves conservatives wanting.

the heritage foundation said the proposal was asking republicans to go back on their promise not to raise taxes. so there is pushback. >> there is push back. it's not surprising there's push back, given the fact this is essentially on economic issues. all that the republican party has stood for for decades now. but what's going to be important to look for is what are those numbers. i think there are going to be a certain number of republicans who don't vote for it. that's a given. you have to look at how many republicans do vote for it. the question here is will those republicans who support a compromise deal, support increased taxes face a backlash in their own primaries? will they suffer at the ballot box? i think if you have a good, substantial chunk of the republican caucus going along with the deal, there are safety

in numbers so they can't be voted out, they can't be primaried in that same way if a lot of them go along with it. >> now, a lot of this is going to depend, richard o speaker boehner. matt lewis writes that speaker boehner has effectively become a cat herder whose legacy rides just on getting the best deal he can. he writes, boehner should use what democrats must see as an unpredictable and irrational republican caucus as a tool to extract a better deal than normally would be possible. it's probably not fair to him but one can't help but suspect that's boehner's legacy is on the line right now. but at the same time, richard, boehner seems to be laying down the law with this house republican caucus. he stripped four house members of committee seats, presumably because they bucked the party on key votes. three of those congressional members were elected during the

tea party victory in 2010. >> yeah, look, reverend, it's not his legacy on the line here. it's his job on the line here. one of the problems he's had all the way through is he's had eric cantor hyped hbehind him poised challenge him for the leadership. he has to play a difficult game here where he has to assert his leadership, not expose himself too much to that challenge. that makes actually negotiating with him extremely difficult. republicans have to decide who they are, what they stand for, other than opposing everything that the president does, other than supporting every single tax cut that anyone could ever support. that's easy, right? now that they've lost, they have to decide who they are. and in the house they have to decide which leader they want. is this john boehner's caucus? is it eric cantor's caucus? negotiating with john boehner when he doesn't control things is not tenable for the white house, not tenable for john boehner. >> well, i guess in the beltway

here where i am tonight and the micro, it's cantor or boehner, but the bigger picture, if the president succeeds in terming the country around on this whole obsession with protecting the rich and protecting no tax cuts, that's a big moment. possible transformative moment in where we are in american politics. krystal ball and richard wolffe, thanks for your time this evening. >> thank you, reverend. >> be sure to catch krystal on "the cycle" weekdays at 3 p.m. right here on msnbc. ahead, he tried to get attention with a disasterous soup kitchen op, and now he wants to rebrand himself as someone who cares about the poor. we reveal paul ryan's makeover plans. and more on the box republicans are in and president obama's

power play. senator barbara boxer of california joins me on that. plus, it's the gop's worst nightmare come true. here comes elizabeth warren on the banking committee. this is about to get interesting. you're watchinging "politicsnation" on msnbc. >> this isn't good. friends of mitt romney are saying that he's bored now. that he's no longer running for president. though not as bored as the rest of us were when he was running for president. i always wait until the last minute. can i still ship a gift in time for christmas? yeah, sure you can. great. where's your gift? uh... whew. [ male announcer ] break from the holiday stress. ship fedex express by december 22nd for christmas delivery.

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have you joined the "politicsnation" conversation on facebook yet? we hope you will. today everyone was excited to hear elizabeth warren was going to serve on the banking committee. pamela says, watch out,

banksters, there's going to be a new cop on the beat. judith says, it's about time we get someone who is not afraid of wall street. charles says, right person, right place. right time. i agree. we've got more on what warren's appointment will mean for the banking committee coming up later. but first, we want to hear what you think. please head over to facebook and search "politicsnation" and "like" us to join the conversation that keeps going long after the show ends. [ male announcer ] it's that time of year again. time for citi price rewind. because your daughter really wants that pink castle thing. and you really don't want to pay more than you have to. only citi price rewind automatically searches for the lowest price. and if it finds one, you get refunded the difference. just use your citi card and register your purchase online. have a super sparkly day! ok. [ male announcer ] now all you need is a magic carriage. citi price rewind. start saving at citi.com/pricerewind.

today in his first interview

since winning re-election, president obama talked about the fiscal cliff standoff. he put his foot down on what is negotiable and what is not. >> we have to say the rates on the top 2% go up. and we're not going to get a deal without it. understand the reason for that. it's not me being stubborn. it's not me being partisan. it's just a matter of math. i'm happy to entertain other ideas the republicans may present, but we are not going to cut our way to prosperity or cut our way out of the deficit problem we have. >> so, are we on the verge of something big, something that could really change our politics? joining me now, senator barbara boxer, democrat from california and whip of the senate. thank you for being on the show. >> i love being on your show. thank you. >> if the gop agrees to tax

increases, how important might that be in terms of showing they actually are capable of working with the president? >> you know, the way they raised the question, if they agree to tax increases, they claim they're willing to do these loop-hole closers but the difference here is the tax rates. here's the issue. as you know, the bush tax cuts, which resulted in rates being lower for 100% of americans, they all expire at the end of the year. democrats have said to republicans, we know you want to extend them for everybody, even if they make $5 billion, $7 billion, $2 million, we'll extend them to the first $250,000 of income. and then the top 2% would have to pay a little bit more. so in my mind and in the president's mind, i think we look at this, and i think it's common sense and say to the republicans, we agree with you

on 98% of what you want to do. you want to extend the tax cuts to 100%. we're saying 98%. so, i think that's the common ground. for some reason, except for tom cole and a few individuals, we don't see where the republicans understand. we can all be winners. can you imagine looking out at the country before the holiday and saying 98% of you are not going to have one more penny to pay on your taxes? that's a big deal. and for some reason they're offering up all this other soup. it's an unpleasant soup that actually is an assault on the middle class. so i think they're in serious trouble with the american people right now. >> now, do you get any sense, because what you're saying just seems so sensible and and logic do you think they're moving that

way? >> reverend al f i could tell you yes, i'd be so happy. i'm a very optimistic person. in july the senate passed that bill. all they have to do is take it up and pass it. they could have taken it up in july, august, september, october. november, we're at december, they haven't taken it up. now democratic leader pelosi has said it's a situation where there's a discharge situation at the desk meaning if 218 people signed that bill, it would come up for a vote and the republicans have said, even tom cole and others with us on this, they won't do it. as i stand here and i through the magic of television see you, i don't see the movement in that direction. but here's what i think. the the american people get it.

it's simple. they're going to the floor and we're going to be there every day until they take up that bill and pass it. they ought to do what tip o'neill did, go to democrats, go to the republicans, find that sweet spot. that's 218. you know, john boehner has to act like he's speaker of the house, not speaker of the republicans. >> well, we can only watch and pray, but -- >> yes. >> -- let me turn the page and ask you -- >> well, you're good at praying, reverend, so i think it's good. >> well, i'll definitely be doing that for the middle class and for all americans. let me ask you, the year of of the woman where we are now, 1993 when you first took your seat, there were six women in the u.s. senate. 20 years later, there will be 21 in the senate, the most in u.s. history. how does that make you feel?

>> i feel good. i feel very good with it. when i ran with senator feinstein, there were only two women, nancy kassabom and we went to six, now, we cannot rest until we're about 50 because truly, look, women are more than 50% of the population. when these issues are discussed, whether it's war and peace, whether it's education, whether it's the hard issues, the soft issues, we belong in the room. so i do feel good -- >> but -- >> yes, i feel good and i'm excited to welcome all those women. remember, i went on your show, it kind of made you crazy and said, please have me on and talk about the fact that 2012 could be the year of the women. you let me do that. we had win with women and you let me publicly size that and i'm very grateful -- >> and you came through. but before we go, we still have

had probably some of the most restrictive and in my opinion, the most reactionary movement against women's right. for example, mississippi's only abortion clinic could be forced to close in january because of restricted regulations that force doctors to secure hospital privileges. now, let me ask you this, the attacks on women's rights, which has been unprecedented, as i said. after the election and the defeat of many of those extreme voices, has the attacks lessened and are you still very concerned about women's rights being taken for granted? or being taken away? >> yeah, i do not see the progress that we should see. this example in mississippi, what does it mean? it means that particularly the poor women and the middle class women who don't have a lot of money to spend, they could be forced into desperate situations. and i remember those years all too well. so, the attack goes on.

look at the house now. they're still sitting on not only the middle class tax cut, they're sitting on the violence against women act. our version in the senate is so good and important, it pulls all the women in. their version would leave out 30 million people. so, it still goes on, reverend. we'll have to keep on talking about this in the days ahead. >> all right. we shall. senator barbara boxer, thanks for your time. >> thanks. coming up, why is paul ryan talking about a new war on poverty? is he kidding? and elizabeth warren's new job has bankers very nervous. stay with us. she keeps you guessing.

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nobody fought harder for wall street reform. the reform that is now law and protecting consumers all across the country than elizabeth. they is going to be an outstanding senator for massachusetts, and everybody here's got to turn out for her. >> the people of massachusetts did turn out for her. and now elizabeth warren is heading to washington. as the most watched new member of the senate. today, there's big news and good news about what she's planning

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make your mark with ink from chase. big news today. politico reports paul ryan is rebranding himself for the new improved republican party. that's right. he's getting a makeover. ♪ >> he's been back on capitol hill for about a week since losing the election. and now he's ready for a new day. here's his before picture, the budget guy, a little rough around the edges. and here's the after picture. wow, he looks great. just great. wait a minute, he looks exactly the same. the makeover's complete but nothing's changed. the truth is, no makeover can

erase ryan's record in congress or in the presidential campaign, but he's trying tonight. when the new ryan makes his debut at a conservative summit in washington. politico says on tuesday night, ryan will say what he's been wanting to say for months. he'll push for a new war on poverty. a new war on poverty? really? paul ryan is here to save the poor. the same paul ryan who staged that phoney photo op at an empty soup kitchen in ohio. the same paul ryan who told seniors that republicans would never touch their benefits as he proposed to do just that, the makers and takers guy. we risk hitting a tipping point in our society where we have more takers than makers in our

society, where we have a hammock. we could become a society where the net majority of americans are takers not makers. >> a welfare society where we have more takers than makers. >> we could be a nation with a majority of takers and a minority of makers. >> folks, that's the real paul ryan. he's just signed off on the gop's new plan to slash medicare and social security, but avoid raising taxes on the rich. like every good makeover artist, ryan is trying to hide his flaws behind cosmetic changes but it won't fool the american people. joining me now, david corn, mother jones washington bureau chief and msnbc political analyst. his new e-book is about how he uncovered romney's original 47% video. and jamal simmons, democratic

strategist and principal at the reagan group. thank you for joining us tonight. >> good to be with you. >> thank you. >> how does paul ryan's attempted makeover echo what we're seeing all across the gop? >> well, it's the old ryan in a new bottle. if you look at what just happened in the campaign, you have to say, hey, america looked at the romney/ryan approach to politics which was this libertarian approach to cutting medicare, cutting medicaid, saying if you trickle down taxes for the rich and 47% bought it. only 47%. so ryan knows if he wants to have a future as a general election candidate, he's going to have to do something different. he in a lot of ways, i don't know if jamal will agree with me, but he was a niche candidate. he appealed to libertarians, people who memorized and got some of the conservative base up. and had no appeal whatsoever in the general election. so he has to do something different, otherwise he'll never

get past 47%. >> jamal, the gop has got to get past 47% if they're ever going to win another presidential election. this is the problem for the whole gop. ryan is merely testing where they all are going to have to rebrand. i mean, we've got almost a preview of what he was going -- probably going to say tonight. he did an interview in milwaukee at a radio station this morning. listen to this. >> i gave a very similar speech in october during the campaign at cleveland state university about how to fight poverty, about conservative free market solutions to addressing the needs of the poor and reigniting upward mobility, about how to attack the root cause of poverty instead of treating the symptoms of poverty, which end up perpetuating poverty. >> now, that's probably what he's going to explain in his speech tonight, this makeover speech.

the problem is the policies. when you look at what he's proposed to helping the poor, cuts to safety net, right out from under them, $3 trillion from programs like food stamps, guts medicaid, pell grants. his budget does not include any tax increases on the rich but exit polls show that americans favor raising attacks on incomes over $250,000. so, when you match whatever speech he makes tonight or whatever interview he did today, what he's proposing, it doesn't wash. >> absolutely. if you look at what ryan wants to do, it's absolutely wrong for the communities that most of us care about. wrong for seniors. it's going to be bad for people who are caught, you know, at the low end of the economic ladder. he's not proposing anything that will be helpful. here's where progressives have to be careful. paul ryan is the first dog into the tunnel. he is trying to find a way to talk about these issues that republicans are going to have to have a message on if they're going to be successful going

forward. here's the thing f they continue to talk about this, if conservatives continue to go into minority communities, talk about poverty, sooner or later they're going to stumble up on something that people will respond to. they're going to find a policy in the middle of this. that's going to hurt democrats. democrats have to stay on their game. you can't sit back and relax. republicans will not lose election after election without fighting, to find a way to end these constituencies. >> we're hearing ryan is closer than ever to being part of the gop leadership in the house. the wisconsin congressman isn't technically a member of the house republican leadership but viewed by gop colleagues as an expert on economic and tax policies and entitlement programs. that explains why ryan has become a new addition to what was previously a four-person 30-minute meeting led each day by boehner and majority leader eric cantor. >> he's expected an expert on

cutting attacks for the rich and cutting entitlements for everybody else. so i think one reason he's in the room, it's tactical. john boehner, we talked about this before, has a tremendous problem. how to cut any deal and not have the tea party wing of his party rebel against him and even threaten his speakership when it comes up to vote january 3rd. having ryan there maybe keeps the restless natives a little more assured. if they can bring ryan along, he'll get some cover out of this. i think for now it's a tactical move on boehner's party. it's not a declaration boehner is supporting ryan in 2016. >> but, jamal, isn't that the problem for the whole party? isn't the problem that this party, unless it can broaden and deal with the new america, the new electorate that they lost to in november -- >> bad. >> -- that they will never be able to regain footing and

eventually just be a permanent marginal party? >> absolutely. they've got to figure out a way out of this box. paul ryan -- paul ryan and i are about the same age. these are different kinds of republicans. they're not afraid of talking to people of color, not afraid of some of these things, some of their parents and grandparents were. this is what i'm saying. democrats have to be careful. barack obama supporting a democrat in 2016 does not mean that democrat's going to get black and latino votes. these democrats are going to have to have solid programs that appeal to these constituencies and fundamental relationships and not be dependent upon the president to carry that water for them. we saw it in 2010. it didn't work. probably won't work again unless these democrats have their own ideas. >> but, david, the democrat in 2016 or even the democrats in the midterm in 2014, i agree, can't depend on the president to deliver votes from latinos or african-americans. but the republicans not being able to expand can only help a candidate win that without having to do much of anything. >> and they're not going to be

able to expend in the next two years. it's interesting that tonight these speeches, and i think marco rubio is giving one, too, the kemp foundation. some of us are hold enough to remember jack kemp who was a republican who i think sincerely believed that some conservative ideas, in terms of homeownership and other things, could help african-american and low income community and he went out there, he talked to that crowd and he had -- yet there was a real authenticity -- >> it's better for americans if they have conservative ideas. these aren't just those ideas. >> yeah, i think cutting medicaid and cutting pell grants and school lunches is not what jack kemp was about. so paul ryan, just by -- it's interesting he said, i gave a speech, i gave a speech. you have to more than give speeches. >> i think you're right. and i do remember reading about jack kemp. david jashgs mal, thank you for being on the show tonight. >> sure thing. coming up, they did everything to stop her. but here comes elizabeth warren.

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the republicans have lots of different reactions to losing the election.

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in this election nobody other than the president was a more passionate, more progressive voice for fairness than elizabeth warren. she crystalized what this debate was all about, in a youtube video that quickly went viral. >> there is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. nobody. you built a factory out there. good for you. but i want to be clear. you moved your good to market on the roads the rest of us paid for. you hired workers that the rest of us paid to educate.

you were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for. you built a factory that turned into something great, god bless. keep a big hunk of it. but part of the underlying social contract is you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next gift who comes along. >> she brought that voice to capitol hill. tonight more big news. "the huffington post" reports, warren will get a seat on the howerful banking committee, the seat that oversees wall street. now when bankers testify about their bad behavior, senator warren will be asking the questions. when republicans try to gut financial reform, senator warren will be there to stop them. and when president obama needs progressive leaders to help

fight for fairness, senator warren will be standing by his side. right now, i bet there are some bankers quaking in their gucci loafers. joining me now is ryan grimm, washington bureau chief of "the huffington post" who broke the warren news this morning and stephanie, president of emily's list, the progressive group that played a key role in miss warren's campaign. thanks to both of you for joining me. what does this news about miss warren's tell us about the democratic priorities in the new congress? >> just the fact of the announcement of the news is a win because there was a huge internal fight waged by bank lobbyists to keep her off this panel. just the mere fact that she's on it, that's a victory for starters.

but secondly it shows that democrats are not going to be totally pushed over. it wasn't the biggest win it could be, if it was warren and tammy baldwin or warren and and hirono, or warren and both of those, then that's a huge win for progressives. warren and mansion might zero each other out. warren is much stronger than manchin is weaker. >> stephanie, have you an issue with your arm. i don't want people to think you're wearing that as a symbol of what some want to do to elizabeth warren. >> this is what happens when you're a montana kid and play in the ocean. >> i want to clear that up that you're not being symbolic in a political way. but elizabeth warren has been very passionate, very outspoken. for example, let me get -- give you a clip of her speech at the

democratic convention. >> wall street ceos, the same ones who wrecked our economy and destroyed millions of jobs, still strut around congress, no shame, demanding favors and acting like we should thank them. does anyone here have a problem with that? well, i do, too. i do, too. >> and they're not used to hearing anything like that in the u.s. senate. and a lot of wall street types and bankers really fought. in fact, they put $5.5 million in -- from the financial industry into her opponent's campaign, scott brown. how is this going to work in the senate, do you feel w her underbanking committee? >> we're so excited. the emily's list community of 2 million have been with elizabeth since she was even thinking about that senate run. and to watch her now get on the

banking committee, walk into the united states senate. she's a fighter for the middle class. she's proven herself, she set up the consumer protection bureau. she's going to bring what is exactly needed in the united states senate to bring this country forward and i couldn't be happier about what she's going to bring to the united states senate. >> now, ryan, the banking industry, one reaction from richard hunt, consumer banking association, president and ceo, he says i welcome her to be inside the tent rather than outside the tent, throwing bombs. what kind of sulbtle message is that? >> well, they think they're going to be able to co-op her. i think the best chance to stymie her is she's outnumbered. you have enough bank-friendly republicans to block her. she could have a lot of pow other this committee.

she can grill regulators when she come in and they know that. every day a regulator goes to work and they're writing rules and enforcing them, they know a couple months from now, i could be on youtube making a fool -- >> being confronted by senator warren. >> right, i don't want that to happen. so, it changes the calculus for people. >> elizabeth, emily's list analysis shows democratic women have been the most consistent voting bloc in the past 12 years. 20 u.s. senate, 78 house, both all-time highs now and they have consistently in the past 12 years been consistently liberal voters. >> 16 women in the senate and you'll see a progressive voting bloc, particularly with the addition -- we're talking about elizabeth warren but tammy baldwin from wisconsin, a leader on the buffett rule in the house is now in the united states

senate, hi rochrono in hawaii. >> as americans, when you look at the polling, how voters view the economic system, 55% think it favors the wealthy. 39% feel it's fair to most americans. so, clearly most persons think it's tilted toward the wealthy. and some people think elizabeth warren can even go for higher office than where she is now. >> that's going to be part of her power. she's already being floated, you know, as a leading presidential or vice presidential candidate. you know, most -- i think most presidential candidates in 2016 would look at warren as a presidential candidate, if she runs for president and that's a lot of power to have that out there. >> we have to leave if there. thanks for your time tonight. >> thank you. >> you thought the right wing

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[ male announcer ] break from the holiday stress. fedex office. today in voter suppression, wisconsin republicans have a new plan. the new leader of the state assembly is gearing up to push voter i.d. again. even though the courts struck it down for violating the state's constitution. >> would you favor beginning the process of changing the state's constitution to require photo i.d. because of some of the legal uncertainty around the law? >> yes, i would favor that. >> change the state constitution. but that's not all. the new top republican in the state senate wants to get rid of nonpartisan judges on the elections boards and replace them with political appointees. why? because he thinks the nonpartisan board has made decisions favorable to democrats.

he thinks this panel is too political and fix it by making it more political, but with republicans. meantime, in pennsylvania, republicans' efforts to suppression continues. remember this guy? >> voter i.d., which will allow governor romney to win the state of pennsylvania, done. >> well, that didn't work out so well. but now pennsylvania republicans are re-introducing a plan to split up the state's electoral votes. pennsylvania has gone democratic in every presidential race since 1992. so republicans want to change how the results are counted. splitting it up by percentage instead of the traditional, winner take all. the gop plan is clear. if you can't win under the rules, just change the rules. is wrong. but we'll be watching and we'll be fighting back. generations before us put everything on the line to give all americans the right to vote.